


treasured tides and treasured scales

by linhardt-lovemail (sanitycandy)



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Almost Drowning, M/M, MerMay, Pirates, eventual background Doropetra, everyone is post timeskip designed so fight me, it's my mermay fic and the Black Eagles can be pirates, mermaid!Dorothea, merman!Caspar, no beta we die like Glenn, well most of them anyway
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-11
Updated: 2020-05-11
Packaged: 2021-03-03 02:33:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,378
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24127453
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sanitycandy/pseuds/linhardt-lovemail
Summary: Linhardt didn’t realize he was falling until he saw the exterior of theBlack Eagleand heard a faint yell from Edelgard.Caspar he heard something drop in the water, from farther away. His curiosity turned his head towards it, only to find a man in the water, struggling in a panic. The merman’s heartdropped.A Mermay Casphardt fic, doesn't follow prompts.
Relationships: Caspar von Bergliez/Linhardt von Hevring
Comments: 3
Kudos: 25





	treasured tides and treasured scales

**Author's Note:**

> oh look finally the mermay fic i was trying to write and it's here and it's casphardt and also here to relieve me from writing HEARTBREAK DEAR GOD
> 
> i'd like to dedicate this first to the caspar appreciation circle 2.0 server as well because we all love caspar there and i originally started talking about the idea there n that's also why caspar has slightly sharp teeth because conversations. also dedicated to my love of the mermaid series Secret Life of a Mermaid that so dearly shaped my childhood and interests of mermaids that i may have fallen back into trying to name this fic, and then didn't even name it after a song, and then didn't even get to push my musical agenda for the chapter title smh /j
> 
> ok end beginning notes enjoy this eventual cavity-inducing, hopefully mostly fluff
> 
> tw/cw for almost drowning and falling overboard a ship

Linhardt looked out over the _Black Eagle_ ’s body, the slight wind blowing strands of his green hair in his face as he gripped the wheel. He kept a compass in his right hand, gauging the direction. Of course, he had to be the eyes and navigator for the Black Eagles crew, as the Sailing Master. He looked over at Captain Edelgard, her face, as usual, set with determination, looking over starboard. Quartermaster Hubert, as always, stood next to her for most of the time, sometimes being ordered or running off to do other tasks. Petra was one of the boatswains, standing out from the other crew, often seen going around and making sure things were right before going back to wherever Hubert or Edelgard was.

What Lin knew was coming, in the air, by the clouds, was a storm. This was the sailing course they had set, though, and it seemed it wouldn’t be easy to escape. Edelgard looked at Linhardt, eventually walking over to him.

“Are you sure that there’s no way around this?” she whispered into his ear. “We can’t wreck now. We’re too close to our goal.”

“Aye,” Linhardt replied, trying to also stifle a small yawn. He didn’t feel tired, it just randomly came over him, but Edelgard would’ve been sure to point it out. “It’s… a pretty big storm. I think it’s too late to turn back now, but that shouldn’t be a problem with a crew like this.”

Edelgard nodded, before standing up on deck. She glanced over at Hubert and nodded, and soon enough, when rain had started to fall on the deck, the crew was preparing for a storm, for anything - even possibly the worst. Out in the waters, everyone knew there were also sorts of mythological creatures lurking - krakens, leviathans, and even the slightly more heard-of mermaids and sirens. Whispers among the crew would speak of Petra searching for one even - and as always, she would cut them down, but a slight shine in her eyes or a waver in her voice would add more fuel.

Lightning struck out nearby. The crack was very _loud_ , and it did startle Linhardt, snapping him out of the reverie he had been auto-piloting in. This wasn’t his first storm, of course, but it was still terrifying. Waves rocked the ship, and it started to feel uncertain, as always. Water splashed aboard, and the crew scrambled around to make sure things stayed where they should’ve, shield things from water, the likes. Linhardt tried his best to keep his footing as the one steering them - he hadn’t failed and wouldn’t start now.

The storm had other ideas. This was one of the ones that took out the rudder - and he wasn’t all too thrilled about that. Then the waves started to hit worse - _nothing I’m not used to_ , he thought, even if he lost balance and was dragged away from the wheel. Water splashed overhead and soaked many of the crew, including him, and he looked around, seeing Hubert in the mess too, equally as wet. Edelgard was still an untouched beacon in the storm, shouting orders Lin wasn’t paying enough attention to to understand. Ropes were being hauled and stuff secured, and-

Linhardt didn’t realize he was falling until he saw the exterior of the _Black Eagle_ and heard a faint yell from Edelgard.

~-*-*-~

Dorothea and Caspar were frantically swimming through the ocean - well, Caspar was leading the charge considering a storm was overhead and he didn’t like the thought of being caught in it. His tail viciously tore through the sway of the ocean. Of course, a ship was in the midst of the storm, as well - as their luck was. He heard Dorothea quickly pop her head above the water, knowing she wouldn’t likely be seen in the chaos, before frantically going back down.

“I know that ship!” Dorothea’s eyes were wide. Caspar turned around to face her.

“You do? Small world, isn’t it!” He laughed.

Then he heard something drop in the water, from farther away. His curiosity turned his head towards it, only to find a man in the water, struggling in a panic. The merman’s heart _dropped_. Even if humans weren’t exactly kind to his folk… this man couldn’t mean any harm, right?

“ _Dorothea-_ ”

“I know you’re going to save him even if I say not to. You’ve done that too many times. But… go ahead. I wouldn’t want to upset _them_. Plus, I may know this guy...” she slightly sighed.

That was all he needed to swim determinedly towards the man, losing struggle in him. He reached out and grabbed him, making the man thrash around more, even opening his eyes a moment before remembering the sting of salt water. Caspar’s grip only tightened, before he started to swim off to find shore. Dorothea tagged along, if only because she might know him - _a fuzzy memory_. Eventually the man stopped entirely moving in his arms, a heartbeat the only remnant of his continued life.

He was gently dumped ashore, Caspar himself hissing as dry sand stuck to him, before receding back into the water and shaking it off. His cheeks felt warm after finally having time to look upon the green-haired sailor - he hoped he was a sailor, anyway - as he lay on the sand.

“Looks like you’re in love, if love at first sight is even possible,” Dorothea giggled.

Caspar put his hands over his cheeks. “I am _**not**_ in love!”

“Then is it possible you’re just attracted to him?”

“ _No!_ He’s just another guy I saved from drowning. I’ve saved others, you know! Girls too! And other guys!” He puffed his cheeks out, little bubbles emitting from his nose as he breathed out, before swimming up to check on him already. Water splashing the back of his head signified Dorothea was swimming away.

While she swam, Caspar randomly remembered her comment of possibly knowing him. _She did say she knew the ship… she might know the crew._ Caspar closed his eyes and sighed. _What a small world indeed!_ Eventually he rested his upper body on a rock, leaving his tail to wave in the water, but hopefully unseen by the man he saved. When he wakes up, of course.

The storm forced him to move away due to his own fear sooner than he had liked, but he swore he’d seen the man start stirring anyway, and Caspar didn’t like either threat - a storm or happening upon who he’d saved for him to realize he was a merman. Caspar figured he’d return another day anyway, to check on him… you know, just to make sure he’s safe, gosh. Nothing to do with anything his cheeks did.

~-*-*-~

Linhardt awoke with a gasp, looking up at the night sky. Clouds seemed to obscure some stars, and he realized he was on sand. And… he felt as if he’d swam. Then the last moments before he lost consciousness came back to him - a storm had tossed him overboard the _Black Eagle_ , and Edelgard had exclaimed as he fell. He hit the water, and frantically started swimming, and at one point he looked out at the blurry sea, forgetting the sting he’d incur, seaweed probably gripping against him - and now he was here.

_There was no way the tide alone could have saved me, right?_

He sat up, shaking his head. With his time with the Black Eagles, all the mermaids, mermen, or mythological creatures they’d met… they usually tended to be malevolent, unless they weren’t, but that was so rare that the crew had learned to be cautious of all tales of monsters preying at sea. But… he couldn’t deny, being saved by one of them didn’t seem all too unlikely. After all, tales of merpeople being helpful and saving a human out of good consciousness… and he battled that back with the tales of them seeing someone catch their eye, and getting dragged into the depths, as some could not comprehend that they could not breathe as they could underwater.

 _If Edelgard could hear my train of thought right now, I’m sure she’d laugh at my reasoning. Maybe it was by chance the sea alone saved me. But now… I’m stuck here until another crew picks me up, or the Black Eagle chances back upon me, no matter how I look at it._ He sighed and laid his head back down on the sand, blinking wearily. Even if he’d just woken from near death, he was sure sleep wouldn’t harm anyone.

He then next awoke to the sun beating down on him, his stomach grumbling. As he looked out towards sea, he saw something _bloop_ beneath the waves. And then - it came back up. A human head, staring at him. All his mind could process was to stare back as it awoke. Then he realized.

“...have you come... to one that saved..?” he shook his head as the statements mushed together in his haze.

“Y-yes, I saved you,” the blue-haired head responded back, his cheeks slightly reddening. “I was just… checking on you. Because I was nervous.” He smiled with slightly sharp teeth, and Lin wasn’t sure whether to feel afraid or comforted… wait a moment.

“Would you come out of the water, then? Surely we could walk together.”

“I… I can’t. I just. Like swimming, you know? _Oh, look at the time,_ I have to go-!” he nervously laughed, before _plopping_ underwater again.

Then a sky-blue scaled tail emerged from the waves, and Linhardt gasped.

“ _Will you wait up-?!_ ” he didn’t realize he was running back into the sea after him until he was swept up again. He tried to swim - _flailing, really_ \- before realizing he’d gotten himself in the same situation when he’d fallen off the deck of the ship.

Luckily, something possessed the other to swim back, who then looked surprisedly at him for a moment before grasping him - like the so-called ‘ _seaweed_ ’ Linhardt had reasoned. Within a few moments, he found himself coughing some water on a rock, as the merman he’d been saved by slightly perched on it, scales fully lit up by the overhead sun, making for a sight that he felt would blind him.

“So… you are… a merman.” he breathlessly said, coughing again.

“This is why I didn’t wanna come out of the water! I mean, most people think I was drowning them, or something…” he laughed.

“I’ve never… seen a merperson… this close up before.” The words went straight to Lin’s cheeks as they came out, causing him to slightly look away in panic.

“Ah, yeah, most people don’t… I feel…”

“And I believe you’d be the better authority on this subject as one of them. Either way… what do I owe you?”

“ _Owe_ me?”

“Well, I _mean_ , you saved me… and I don’t think most merpeople do that without motivation.”

“Well, my motivation was to make sure you didn’t die! Like how everyone else I’ve saved before. My friends say it’s dangerous to save people like you, or people in general…” he sadly laughed, before clearing his throat. “Anyway! You don’t need to worry about paying me back! Just continue living!”

By the Goddess Sothis, this was one of the most _tender_ exchanges that Linhardt had ever had. Being told to continue living? Was he a contribution to society… _other_ than being the Sailing Master on an otherwise insignificant _pirate crew_ , the Black Eagles?

“Oh, and one of my friends apparently might’ve recognized you, so it would’ve been really heartbreaking if you died…”

A slight silhouette on the horizon caught Linhardt’s attention as the merman spoke to him. Nothing much else was identifiable about it… yet.

“Oh, I was recognized?” he nonchalantly replied.

“Well, it was more like she said she recognized your ship that you fell from, and she said that she also didn’t want to upset your crew, so, you know.”

The ship’s advancement showed the black, red, and gold flag of the _Black Eagle_.

“Oh, that’s my crew, the Black Eagles...”

“Wait - the ship’s approaching? Crap, I gotta go! Really! I don’t know how your crew would react, so, uh, seeya!”

“Wait, no, please… don’t…” As he said that, the other was already swimming away, light-blue tail touching the surface a few times until he was submerged and… well, basically gone. Linhardt couldn’t follow the man - after all, he’d already shown how _great_ he was at swimming when half-awake and panicking, and he wasn’t sure how much better he’d be trying to tame the sea when he wasn’t like him.

~-*-*-~

Eventually the _Black Eagle_ pulled up and rescued Linhardt. Hubert seemed to slightly relax, the duties he had been temporarily assigned lifted by his rescue.

“However did you manage to be that far away?” Edelgard sighed. “Did you swim that far? Last I saw of you, you were flailing as we were pushed away by the storm…”

“You _might_ not believe it, but, I was saved by a _merman!_ ” he couldn’t help but smile.

“A _merman?_ ” Petra’s attention seemed to be caught by that small remark. “Was he having a name?”

“I… I didn’t ask him for one. But I _swear_ that I was saved by him! We even talked a bit…”

Hubert and Edelgard exchanged looks.

“You can believe what you wish, I suppose,” Edelgard dismissed the topic. “What _is_ true is that your absence has delayed our goal. We can’t have the Blue Lions or the Church finding us out.”

“Aye, Captain,” Linhardt replied, sighing, making his way to the wheel before his stomach growled again.

“After you are fed!” she looked a little mad, and so he quickly left to get food.

That man eventually reappeared in one of his rare dreams. His tail shimmered in the light, and he realized that he was underwater with him. The man grabbed his wrist, as if to invite him on an adventure with him. Even as Linhardt was a clothed sailor still, all he could do was accept. He was tugged along by his firm grip, and…

Then he awoke, a small missing of the merman in his chest. He reasoned it as wanting to study him, but he didn’t know at the time what would come of his little fall overboard.

**Author's Note:**

> i'd like for you to know that if you enjoyed this first chapter there will be AT LEAST 4 chapters!! there'll probably be more!!! i have them plotted out and all (except for... Black Eagles... in depth... ha ha sweats) so you might want to mark it for later if you want to know when the next is!!
> 
> you can also follow me on twitter [@sanitycanD](https://twitter.com/sanitycanD)!!  
> if i'm dead there just come to [my tunglr](https://linhardt-lovemail.tumblr.com/) (if link breaks bc i change url i'll eventually get there)
> 
> also please don't come after me if i got roles wrong please i tried to do my pirate research


End file.
